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This index features only vinyl and includes unofficial releases; this index will not include re-pressings of official releases unless they’re significantly different or contain different tracks.

B. Unofficial Releases

1. Germs ‎– Cruising Studio Sessions
Label: Bandwagon Records
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 33 1/3 RPM, EP
Released: 1980

Notes: Officially unreleased tracks produced by Jack Nitzsche. Limited to 500 copies.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Throw It Away
A2 ‎– Not All Right
B1 ‎– Now I Hear The Laughter
B2 ‎– Going Down

2. The Germs ‎– What God Means To Me…
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Released: 1991

Notes: Four apparent versions of this bootleg were issued: tan colored cover with light blue labels, light blue colored cover with blue labels, light blue colored cover with red labels, and light blue colored cover with white labels.

Tracklist
A ‎– No God
B ‎– Lion’s Share

3. The Germs ‎– What We Do Is Bootleg!
Label: Ghost O’Darb Records
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Released: 1992

Notes: Side A is studio recordings, side B consists of excerpts from the film “The Decline Of Western Civilization”, as well as their last live show at Starwood.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– My Tunnel
A2 ‎– Throw It Away
A3 ‎– Not All Right
A4 ‎– Now I Hear The Laughter
A5 ‎– Going Down
A6 ‎– Lions Share
A7 ‎– Caught In My Eye
A8 ‎– Round And Round
B1 ‎– Nicole (Germs’ Manager) Speaks
B2 ‎– Manimal
B3 ‎– Public Image
B4 ‎– Strange Notes
B5 ‎– Shutdown
B6 ‎– Richie Dagger’s Crime

4. The Germs (GI) ‎– The Germs (GI)
Label: CRASH! Records
Catalog Number: CRASH! 001
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1992

Notes: Collects the ‘Tooth & Nail’ comp LP tracks. Numbered edition of 500 [?].

Tracklist
A ‎– Manimal
B1 ‎– Dragon Lady
B2 ‎– Strange Notes

5. The Germs ‎– At The Masque
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1998

Notes: Recorded Live at The Masque in Los Angeles on February 24, 1978. Limited to 200 numbered copies.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Let’s Pretend
A2 ‎– No God
A3 ‎– The Slave
B1 ‎– Shutdown
B2 ‎– Hang On To Yourself
B3 ‎– Forming

>> return to The Germs page >>

This index features only vinyl and includes official releases

A. Releases

1. The Germs ‎– Forming
Label: What Records?
Catalog Number: WHAT 01
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, , Single
Released: July 1977

Notes: The untitled live song on side-B (The Germs Live) is “Sex Boy”, recorded at the second Germs live show, at the Roxy; made during the filming of the first Cheech and Chong movie Up in Smoke. This is regarded as the first punk rock single to come out of LA, released just 16 months after the landmark first album by the Ramones came out on the east coast.

Tracklist
A ‎– Forming
B ‎– [untitled]

2. The Germs ‎– Lexicon Devil
Label: Slash Records
Catalog Number: Scam 101
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: May 1978

Notes: Bandmembers named without role on back sleeve, “Nicky Beat on drums (courtesy of The Weirdos)” credited on inner gatefold (bottom); sleeve variations for this first pressing include red, pink, goldenrod, and yellow.

Tracklist
A ‎– Lexicon Devil
B1 ‎– Circle One
B2 ‎– No God

Label: Slash Records

4. Germs ‎– What We Do Is Secret
Label: Slash
Catalog Number: SREP-108
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: August 1981

Notes: Two jacket variations exist in the same way they exist for (GI): one pressing in pasteboard-style sleeve (brown cardboard-colored inside) and another which is white inside. Track A1 recorded in 1977 by What Records; Tracks A2, A3 & B1 recorded in 1978 and previously released as the Lexicon Devil 7″ EP in May 1978; Track A4 recorded in 1979 by Slash Records and is an outtake from the (GI) LP studio sessions; Track B2 is not listed on back cover but on label; Tracks B3 & B4 recorded live on December 3rd, 1980 at the Starwood, Hollywood.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Round And Round
A2 ‎– Lexicon Devil
A3 ‎– Circle One
A4 ‎– Caught In My Eye
B1 ‎– No God
B2 ‎– Dialogue From Last Show
B3 ‎– The Other Newest One
B4 ‎– My Tunnel

7. Germs ‎– (DCC)
Label: Rockville / Gasatanka Records
Catalog Number: ROCK-6094-7 / JC-9026
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1992

Notes: Issued on blue, black, clear, green, and light blue vinyl. Side A: recorded live at the Fleetwood on May 6, 1980; Side B: recorded during (GI) rehearsals at the Canterbury in 1979.

Tracklist
A ‎– Communist Eyes
B1 ‎– Forming
B2 ‎– What We Do Is Secret

8. Germs ‎– Forming (Version 2)
Label: Alive Records
Catalog Number: ALIVE 0056
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Released: 2004

Notes: Released in black, purple, and white vinyl versions. The credits stated on this reissue are exactly the same as on the 1977 version of Forming.

Tracklist
A ‎– ‘Round And ‘Round
B ‎– Forming (Version 2)

9. The Germs ‎– Lexicon Devil (Version 2)
Label: Anarchy Music
Catalog Number: ARY 8079
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 2007

Notes: Limited to 500 numbered copies; recorded live at the Whisky in 1979.

Tracklist
A ‎– Lexicon Devil
B1 ‎– What We Do Is Secret
B2 ‎– Sex Boy

The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band’s main early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979’s (GI), produced by Joan Jett, and were featured the following year in Penelope Spheeris’ documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement.

The Germs disbanded following Crash’s suicide on December 7, 1980. Their music was influential to many later punk rock acts. Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

Show List and Key Dates – This index features show dates, venues, and flyers

Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes official releases

Unofficial Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes unofficial recordings

Formation
Crash (born Jan Paul Beahm) and Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg) decided to start a band after being kicked out of University High School for antisocial behavior, allegedly for using “mind control” on fellow students. Their original name was “Sophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens”, but they had to shorten the name as they could not afford that many letters on a T-shirt. The (initially hypothetical) first lineup consisted of Beahm (then known as Bobby Pyn, and later as Darby Crash) on vocals, Ruthenberg (under the name Pat Smear) on guitar, an early member named “Dinky” (Diana Grant) on bass, and Michelle Baer playing drums. This lineup never played in front of a live audience.

In April 1976, the band added Lorna Doom (born Teresa Ryan) on bass, with transitional member Dottie Danger (later famous as Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go’s) on drums. Carlisle never actually played with the band, as she was sidelined by a bout of mononucleosis for an extended period. She was replaced by her friend Donna Rhia (Becky Barton), who played three gigs and performed on their first single. Carlisle remained a friend and helper of the band (she can be heard introducing the band on the Germicide: Live at the Whisky recording, produced by Kim Fowley), only leaving because her new band, the Go-Go’s, were becoming popular and, as she put it, “I was really disturbed by the heroin that was going on”. Nickey Beat, of various noteworthy Los Angeles bands including the Weirdos, also sat in on drums for a time.

The band’s first live performance was at the Orpheum Theater. Smear recalled: “We made noise. Darby stuck the mic in a jar of peanut butter. It was a dare, we had no songs or anything! Lorna wore her pants inside out, and Darby covered himself in red licorice…we made noise for five minutes until they threw us off”.

The Germs initially drew musical influences from Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Ramones, the Runaways, Sex Pistols, and New York Dolls. Early on, Smear was the only musically experienced member; Doom survived early performances by sliding a finger up and down the fretboard of her bass while Rhia generally kept a minimal beat on the bass drum, periodically bashing a cymbal.

Early performances were usually marked by raucous crowds made up of the band’s friends. As a result, their gigs became notorious for being rowdy and usually verged on a riot.

Recordings
The first single, “Forming”, was recorded on a Sony 2-track reel-to-reel recorder in Smear’s family garage, and arrived back from the pressing plant with the note, “Warning: This record causes ear cancer”, printed on the sleeve by the plant staff, much to the band’s displeasure. It was released in July 1977 on the What? label. The single featured a shambolic but serviceable performance on the A-side and a muddy live recording of “Sexboy” on the B-side, recorded at the Roxy for the Cheech and Chong movie, Up in Smoke. The song was not used in the movie, nor was the band. They were the only band not to receive a call-back to perform live for the film’s “Battle of the Bands” sequence, perhaps due to the fact that the Germs’ chaotic Roxy performance had featured an unscripted, full-on food fight.

The Germs, despite most expectations, developed a sound that was highly influential. Throughout their career, they had a reputation as a chaotic live band. Crash often arrived onstage nearly incoherent, singing everywhere but into the microphone and taunting the audience between songs, yet nevertheless, delivered intense theatrical and increasingly musical performances. The other band members prided themselves on similar problems, with many contemporary reviews citing collapses, incoherence and drunken vomiting onstage. Fans saw this as part of the show, and indeed, the band presented it as such, even when breaking bottles and rolling in the glass, with the music coming and going.

Smear was revealed to be a remarkably talented and fluid player; much later, after Crash’s death, critics finally acknowledged his lyrics as poetic art. Crash’s vocals had begun to mold themselves around the style of the Screamers’ vocalist Tomata DuPlenty (The Screamers, a huge LA live attraction at the time, never released a record, but covered the Germs’ song “Sex Boy” at live shows, as heard on bootleg recordings.) Another strong influence on the band’s final sound was Zolar X, a theatrical glam rock band popular in the Los Angeles area circa 1972–1980. Crash and Smear were enthusiastic fans of the band from the pre-Germs days, and the fast tempos and raw guitar tone of (the historically pre-punk) Zolar X were similar to the sound achieved on later Germs recordings.

The Germs recorded two singles (with alternate tracks), an album-length demo session, and one full-length LP, (GI), each more focused and powerful than the last. Crash was, despite his erratic behavior, generally regarded as a brilliant lyricist (a contemporary critic described him as “ransacking the dictionary”), and the final lineup of Smear, Doom and Bolles had become a world-class rock ensemble by the recording of (GI), turning in a performance that spurred an LA Weekly reviewer to write, “This album leaves exit wounds”. It is considered one of the first hardcore punk records, and has a near-mythic status among punk rock fans. The album was produced by Joan Jett of the Runaways.

The Germs were featured in Spheeris’s documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization along with X, Black Flag, Fear, Circle Jerks, Alice Bag Band, and Catholic Discipline.

Online Resources:

Break My Face – review of Forming